Escape Mode
by archsage328
Summary: School's out, or so Makoto and his classmates think upon leaving Hope's Peak Academy after Usami gave them the Escape Button. The world is very different from how they remember, and they've got their work cut out for them if they're going to help make sure Hope flourishes once again. Direct sequel to School Mode in the first game.
1. Prologue: Graduates of Despair

Okay, so about a year and a half ago, I started watching a YouTube channel called the Let's Dub Project, and among their many great adaptations, I fell in love with their take on Danganronpa. So after getting my hands on a PS Vita for Hanukah, I decided to give the series a shot myself. As of this post, I have only three games for said handheld console. All of them are DR games, all of which I've reached 100% with regards to trophies.

…Said games are also the ONLY games I've currently unlocked platinum trophies in, so I may have gone a bit overboard. But anyway, enough rambling. Let's start up the prologue to what is sure to be quite an interesting adventure!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Danganronpa.**

Prologue: Graduates of Despair

The past 50 days had been an odd mix of fear, confusion, and fun for Makoto Naegi.

The scary and perplexing part stemmed mostly from the nature of the situation itself. Instead of being enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy, a school famous for how successful its phenomenal students became upon graduation, Makoto and 14 other students found themselves knocked out and trapped inside the world-renowned institution, with no clear explanation as to why or how they had been abducted. Having monitors and cameras in every part of the school, including their dorm rooms (with the welcome exception of the public bathhouse), did little to calm the nerves.

In addition, they were greeted by a talking black and white mechanical, remote controlled bear named Monokuma, who claimed to be their headmaster and told them that they had 50 days to build "back-up" Monokumas so that they could begin their actual school life. What this amounted to was being given vague instructions at different intervals on how to build a Monokuma, scrounge the five story school for parts, and attempt to build a functioning robot.

On the flipside of the coin, Monokuma only had them work in the mornings (or what he claimed were the mornings, since it was impossible to see outside), and gave them every afternoon as well as every seventh day off. During this time, they were allowed to go anywhere in the school save for a few rooms on the top two floors of the main building and the second floor of dorms and above. So over the course of seven weeks, Makoto and his new "classmates" spent their time getting to know one another, many of them becoming very close with one another, forming the sort of friendships that would last a lifetime. In addition, resources such as food, water, electricity, and clean clothes were surprisingly never an issue. All in all, those 7 weeks weren't anywhere near as bad as they could have been.

Unfortunately, it did not last. On the morning of the 51st day, Monokuma appeared before everyone and expressed his immense frustration with the students' various attempts to build the back-ups. Their latest attempt earned them special ire, due to it resembling a pink rabbit rather than a bear. In the students' defense, all Monokuma had told the students was what parts were needed as well as random themes, such as "Savant" and "Adult", but well-founded arguments meant nothing to their creepy headmaster. So having lost every last shred of patience, Monokuma decided to start providing "motives" in order to encourage more satisfactory results. Said motives amounted to picking a representative from the students and executing them on the spot every time they failed. And to set an example, he was going start then and there with the Ultimate Lucky (or Unlucky) Student, Makoto Naegi.

But not all hope was lost. Before Monokuma could begin Makoto's punishment, the most recent back-up attempt suddenly came to life and started talking all on its own, introducing itself as Usami. This made no sense to the students, for they had not installed anything into the pink rabbit that would allow for this kind of autonomous behavior, but since Usami immediately went on to save Makoto's life by beating Monokuma into submission, forcing him to hand over a device that would unlock the main entrance of Hope's Peak Academy, giving said device to the students, and encouraging them to hold onto hope and maintaining their bonds with one another, all before deactivating herself with just as little warning, it was admittedly somewhat difficult to argue with the outcome.

So it was with great optimism and enthusiasm that Makoto pressed the large red button that opened up the front doors.

* * *

The sight greeting him beyond the open doors was not at all what he was expecting. The front gate was gone, the walkway leading to the main door was covered with the rusted debris of some sort of vehicle, and the cityscape surrounding the school was…well, for lack of a better term, missing. No apartment complexes, no office buildings, no stores, nothing but the occasional dead tree. Everything that had been there when Makoto first entered Hope's Peak were nowhere to be seen, as though they had never existed. Instead, what could only be described as a desert wasteland presented itself to him and his friends. As for Hope's Peak itself, the walls of the school were covered in military-grade canons.

Makoto Naegi summed up his reaction to the strange world around him in three simple words.

"What the hell?!"

 **(To be continued)**

Yeah, so I've been sitting on this idea for several months now. I've spent a great deal of that time brainstorming, something I'm much more confident in than in my writing abilities. I have no idea how long chapters for this story going to be, though probably longer than this one. Probably. Anywhoosal, I know there's not much here just yet, but rest assured, I've got a LOT more planned for later on down the road. Especially regarding the events of Ultra Despair Girls and the aftermath of Island Mode. But that's all I'll say on the matter for now. Until next time!


	2. Act 1, Chapter 1

In the time since my last update of this story, a bunch of my favorite Danganronpa stories were updated. So despite not receiving as much feedback as I would have liked (no surprises there, I'm afraid), I still felt encouraged enough to put out the next chapter. Kinda wish the same thing would happen with Outlaw Star (would probably help me a great deal with giving me the fire needed to plow through the next chapter of Flower of Fate), but that's neither here nor there.

Before we begin, however, here a few things I forgot to mention last time. This story assumes that as of this point in the story, the reader is familiar with the first game's overall plot as well as all Free Time Events and School Mode Endings from said game. Danganronpa IF is not required at this point, but it will be in the near future. That being said, those who are only familiar with the anime adaptation SHOULD be able to enjoy this story for the most part, but there may be some references to things the anime inevitably didn't have a chance to cover due to its format. When elements from other games and additional materials begin to appear, I will provide similar warnings. And if you're reading this story with absolutely no idea who these characters are nor the source material they originate from…um, thank you, but I'm a wee bit confused as to why you're reading this in the first place.

On top of that, I will be throwing in some romance where I see appropriate, but I'll do my best not to let it dominate the story, seeing as how it's not supposed to be the primary focus this time around.

Enough of that, though. Let's get this show on the road!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Danganronpa.**

 **Act I: Departure from Despair**

Chapter 1: Free Bird

"What the hell?!" Makoto shouted. What stood before just didn't seem possible. But unfortunately, reality disagreed.

"Are you…are you fucking kidding me?" Over to his left, Makoto could hear Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, croak out. Mondo was foul-mouthed and short-tempered, but his heart was always in the right place. He took it upon himself to look out for those he saw as being too weak to look after themselves, and despite the mayhem he's caused over the years, he had a dream of becoming a talented carpenter.

"What the…what on Earth happened to the city?" cried Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass. Uptight, loud, and passionate about maintaining order, Taka and Mondo were at odds until they ended up challenging each other to a battle of endurance in the sauna, after which they declared themselves brothers in arms. Since then, Taka started becoming a little more flexible and understanding towards his peers, but he still appeared to be unfamiliar with the concept of speaking softly.

"Not to mention the school grounds…" added Hifumi Yamada, the Ultimate Fan Fiction Creator. As hardcore a fan of anime, video games, and manga as Taka was a hardass, Hifumi could pretty darn eccentric at times, as well as a bit perverted. However, Makoto admired the pride Hifumi had in his work, as well as his aspirations to one day start writing original material.

"Guys, I think we should turn back," the Ultimate Fashionista Junko Enoshima suggested. Generally chipper, mellow, and easy-going, anyone who took the time interact with Junko would eventually realize there was far more to her than meets the eye. Makoto especially couldn't help but wonder just what had led the young model to be such a complex person.

"But can we even go back inside?" Aoi Asahina, the Ultimate Swimmer, inquired. Bubbly, cheerful, optimistic, and with a love for donuts, water, and healthy competition, Hina was quiet possibly one of the nicest and friendliest people you could ever meet. However, she wasn't the brightest person around and could be a bit self-conscious when it came to her own love-life, despite actively trying to encourage some of her friends to get together with one another.

What the Olympic swimmer was referring to was a large grinding-like sound was her only reply, as the strange door they had walked out of moments ago could sound could be heard closing.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb, and say 'No,'" answered Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star. Leon was a self-styled rebel, ladies' man, and aspiring musician who at one point wanted to give up sports altogether, but found room in his heart for both music and baseball thanks to Makoto. He could be obnoxious at times, but those who interacted with him personally just couldn't help but like the guy despite his faults.

Makoto found it hard to disagree with Leon on this point. Even if they wanted to try and force the door back open, he had a feeling that the canons mounted on the school walls wouldn't let them try. Safe to say that there was no turning back now.

"Dude, are you saying Hope's Peak is now Vault 101? Just how screwed are we?" muttered Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant. Hagakure was the oldest member of the group, but his immaturity often brought that into question. Unlike the rest of his classmates, Makoto considered him an acquaintance at best (asking permission to sell your organs in order to save one's own skin rather than spend your own money can have that effect), but he seemed to get along to an extent with Leon and Hifumi.

"As loathe as I am to admit it, the idiot has a point," remarked Byakuya Togami, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. As the young heir to a world-renowned corporation, Byakuya had arrogance in spades, as well as the intelligence and cunning to back it up. But as standoffish as the young man is, he and Makoto had formed a sort of mutual understanding and even had some respect for one another, a feat unheard of for anyone not directly affiliated with his family.

"A-And what point is that, my White Knight?" stuttered Toko Fukawa, the Ulimate Writing Prodigy. A young author whose romance novels were loved by females all over and were regular best-sellers, Toko was a stark contrast to the tone of her books: gloomy, irritable, pessimistic, and the less said about her own love life, the better. Even so, Makoto's persistent attempts to befriend her had brought benefits for them both: Makoto was one of a select few to know about a rather dangerous secret of Toko's, whereas the author had been encouraged by the average boy to try writing novels based on her own experiences, not just her imagination.

"I believe he means that our continued safety is no longer guaranteed now that we have left Hope's Peak," answered Celestia Ludenburg, the Ultimate High Roller, gesturing with one had to towards the wasteland and the canons on the school with the other. A gambler with an arguably absurd lucky streak, Celes gave off an air of refinement with her taste in clothes, a polite smile, relaxed attitude, and silver tongue. While Makoto considered her to be a friend as well, albeit one he should be wary of, Hifumi acted as her personal servant and was believed by their peers to be one of the few who has had the misfortune (or fortune, depending on your point of view) to see the woman behind the perpetual mask of the Queen of Liars.

"You mean we're in danger now? What should we do?" sobbed the Ultimate Programmer, Chihiro Fujisaki. Meek, pacifistic, and prone to self-loathing, Chihiro regularly saw themselves in a negative light despite their gift with and love of technology, and as Makoto had recently learned, carried a rather serious secret with them. However, time spent among their classmates has started to help boost Chihiro's self-esteem, and any time they smiled was arguably the most adorable sight on the planet.

"Regardless, the first thing we should do is search for anything that could be used as shelter, at least until we have determined what is going on right now," said the Ultimate Martial Artist Sakura Ogami. Nicknamed "Ogre", Sakura was heiress to a dojo dating back several centuries, and her overwhelming physique and fearsome appearance did little to accurately convey just how strong she truly was. Even so, Sakura was actually pretty friendly, if a bit on the quiet side, and was so close to Hina that one would think they were fraternal twins.

"Yeah, that's sounds like a good idea to me," confirmed Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Pop Sensation. As clichéd as it was, the ordinary boy actually went to school with the idol when they were younger, but they hadn't gotten to know one another until they reunited at Hope's Peak. Pretty, perky, energetic, friendly, and passionate about her work, Sayaka had become one of Makoto's closest friends, and like him, she seemed to be having what could only be described as the same weird premonitions lately…

As everyone began to make their way towards the rusted gateway, Makoto hung back and walked alongside the one person who hadn't said anything since coming outside: Kyoko Kirigiri. While Makoto knew what the talents of the rest of his classmates were, Kyoko was the one exception, and the fact that the enigmatic, practical, down-to-earth girl disclosed very little about herself only added to the mystery. Even so, Makoto had grown very close with Kyoko, arguably even more so than with Sayaka or any of their other classmates (Hina tended to have a bit too much fun teasing him about it, at least in his opinion), especially through their shared desire to find out why they had been stuck in Hope's Peak for 50 days.

"…You finding all this suspicious, too?" Kyoko finally inquired.

"Yeah, and not just the obvious stuff, like the missing city," confirmed Makoto. "The rust on those vehicle parts…I'm pretty sure that rust that bad doesn't happen in less than two months."

"Exactly," agreed Kyoko. "It's starting to look more and more likely that we weren't just locked in for more than 7 weeks."

"But how can that be? We came to Hope's Peak, and then…oh..." Makoto face lit up with realization.

"I haven't had a chance to ask the others yet, but I assume that their memories cut off at the same point," Kyoko nodded. "We were all led to believe that all of this happened as soon as we arrived, but there's a good chance that we were put under for quite some time before Monokuma introduced himself to us."

"So…they just knocked us out and kept us that way until they were ready?"

"Would you really consider having only one Monokuma copy totally prepared for what they seemed to have in mind for us?"

"…True, that does seem like a pretty big oversight, all things considered," Makoto admitted.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not going complaining about it by any means, nor about our timely rescue by Usami," added Kyoko. "But with all the other measures they took to ensure that we learned as little as possible about the outside world while we were trapped in the school, to have such insufficient means to keep us there indefinitely and not try to fix it themselves…"

"It's like they were prepared for this outcome, right from the start," Makoto pieced together. "But why? What could they possible gain from either outcome?"

"Admittedly, their motives are something I haven't puzzled out yet, but given more time, I'm sure we'll be able to," Kyoko said, ending with a small smile to which Makoto reciprocated. Noticing that they were beginning to fall behind the rest of the group, Makoto grabbed Kyoko's gloved hand and picked up his pace to catch up.

 **(To be continued)**

And there's chapter one. A little shorter than I originally planned, but it seemed like a good place to end it off. I especially wanted to address something I realize didn't really touch upon in the last chapter: just who are Makoto's classmates, especially in his eyes post School-Mode.

Also, depending on what exactly the upcoming anime, End of Hope's Peak Academy, confirms or does not confirm, I may have to alter the details of the surrounding cityscape. If that happens, so be it. Speaking of possible alterations, I probably won't have the next chapter ready for a while, at least not until I accomplish the following:

-finish reading Danganronpa/Zero (currently on Chapter 6)

-familiarize myself with the overall plots of Danganronpa: Kirigiri and Danganronpa: Togami

-read more of the manga based on the three games out so far

-read a few more stories regarding the period of time immediately after the canon survivors leave Hope's Peak

-watch Danganronpa Abridged, because why the heck not?

Two last things before I go. First of all, since the series is full of shout-outs, I'm gonna try to include some here and there. Let's see who can find all of the ones I leave…at least intentionally. Second, if anyone is interested in becoming a beta for Escape Mode, feel free to shoot me a PM.

Until next time!

PS: Sorry if some of my comments in the author's note at the start of chapter were too accusatory or anything. I kinda just needed to vent a bit, ya know?


	3. Act 1, Chapter 2

Well, the new DR anime have begun to air, and nothing is going the way I expected. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'm not always that great with surprises, but sometimes, they're pretty welcome. Anyway, I probably should wait until both finish airing (as well as actually finish reading all the additional materials) before updating this anymore, but I'm too fired up right now to stop.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Danganronpa.**

Chapter 2: Enter Sandman

Luck definitely wasn't on Makoto's side, nor on those of his classmates. They'd left the school at around noon, but by the time the sun had begun to set, they'd found nothing that could remotely pass for shelter. As a result, they were forced to make camp outside. And despite their surroundings, they weren't even able to see any stars.

Speaking of which, that was something else that had been bugging Makoto throughout the day. Before entering Hope's Peak Academy, he clearly remembered the sky being a bright blue with some clouds scattered here and there. But now the sky was nothing but a dismal, reddish gray, and if some of the students' constant coughing fits were any indication, that giant cloud wasn't made of evaporated water. Chihiro was suffering the worst. Their fits got so bad that, despite fervent protests from the programmer, Mondo and Sakura spent the second half of the day's trek taking turns carrying them.

Sadly, having not known what waited for them outside, most of the students were ill prepared. Not to say that they hadn't brought anything with them. A few students had brought some snacks and such along, but since they had no idea how long it would be before they came across a sign of civilization, they were forced to eat very little. Fortunately, Hina and Sakura had brought along plenty of water bottles and were more than willing to share. Unfortunately, none of them had thought to pack sleeping bags, so at best those wearing several layers could use their jackets as makeshift beds. Some of the more chivalrous students such as Mondo and Makoto offered their jackets and hoodies respectively to those without, while others such as Hifumi were…convinced to forfeit their over shirts.

In addition, since they had no idea what to expect anymore, the Hope's Peak students agreed that they needed someone to keep watch while the others slept. Mondo and Sakura were the first to volunteer, but the outlaw biker and martial artist were shot down due to having carried Chihiro all afternoon. Said programmer was the next to offer, feeling responsible for burdening them, but just about everyone else told them to get their rest and left no room for them to argue. Fortunately, Kyoko and Junko were the next to offer, which was a surprising combo in and of itself, but no one could think of a reason to object. Hina and Taka said they'd be willing to take over for them partway through the evening so that they wouldn't have to be up the entire time, but the enigmatic girl and the supermodel insisted that it wouldn't be necessary. And for some reason that Makoto couldn't place, he knew that they weren't exaggerating.

Despite their situation, everyone passed out pretty quickly, most likely due to all the walking they'd done during the day. Unfortunately for two particular students, however, their slumbers would be brief and far from restorative.

Makoto shot up in a cold sweat about three hours after passing out, his heart beat skipping like phonograph.

"Is…Is everyone alright?" he gasped. Taking a moment to quickly look around, he saw that all of his classmates were present and accounted for, as well as miraculously still asleep, which should have put his mind at ease. Sadly, the scenes from his nightmares wouldn't go away.

 _Sayaka slumped on the floor in his shower room, a knife plunged into her stomach_

 _Junko skewered by giant spears in the Gymnasium, shock etched across her face_

 _Chihiro crucified in the locker room, Bloodbath Fever written in blood on the wall behind them_

 _Taka and Hifumi both lying on the floor, brained to death with blood-covered hammers_

 _Sakura sitting on a chair in the Rec Room, the life already gone from her body_

"None of that was real. They're all here with me…right?" Makoto murmured. Standing up, the luckster hoped that a brief walk would help clear his head.

Not even 10 minutes later, Sayaka had been woken by nightmares as well, hers just as cruel but also bordering on bizarre.

 _Makoto trapped in a barrel, Monokuma stabbing swords into it until all movement ceased_

 _Hiro on a quiz show stage, running from a door with a monstrous mouth until it devoured him_

 _Toko heading towards Byakuya, only to be separated by a steam roller that flattened her_

 _Hina inside a water tank full of hungry sharks, Monokuma about to drop the curtain on it all_

 _Byakuya freezing to death after being covered in trash and pelted with stones by Monokuma_

"What's going on? Why is this happening?" Hugging herself tightly, Sayaka looked around the campsite. Without too much trouble, she was able to spot Hiro, Toko, Hina, and Byakuya. But just as she was about breathe a sigh of relief, she realized that the spot where Makoto had chosen to lay down was empty. Her stomach suddenly twisting like a worm beneath the lure, the pop idol hurriedly glance side to side until out of the corner of her eye, she saw her dear friend shuffling tiredly near Junko's side of the perimeter.

"Makoto?" Sayaka croaked, her voice unusually hoarse and dry. Even so, Makoto must have heard her, and changed course in her direction.

"Sayaka…Are you...?" Makoto trailed off, his tone a mixture of relief and concern. Without warning, the pop star flung herself towards the lucky student, weeping in his arms. Shock quickly gave way to realization and understanding, and so Makoto said nothing for some time.

Eventually, Sayaka's wails began to subside, though her body still shook. Looking up, she met Makoto's gaze.

"Let's sit down," Makoto said, gesturing towards Sayaka's designated spot on the ground.

Once the two had shared the details of their nightmares, a tense silence filled the air.

"Sayaka, I'm not sure how to say this, but…I'm not sure these are just simple nightmares…" Makoto announced sadly.

"What do you mean?" Sayaka's eyes widened.

"I think…I think it's like what we discussed before we left Hope's Peak," Makoto explained.

"You mean like the promise from another life time?" Sayaka cocked her head to the side.

"Yeah, and that's just it. I mean, you and I are still alive, as well as everyone else we saw die, yet those visions we saw didn't feel like nightmares or even predictions of the future," Makoto said.

"So…we're not at risk of turning into Hiro?" Sayaka asked innocently.

"No…I don't think we need to worry about that…" Makoto tried to say reassuringly, but Sayaka was sure she heard a small note of panic in his voice.

"I think you're right about them not being average nightmares. After all, I'm pretty sure dreams are usually much harder to remember in this much detail," Sayaka agreed. "But where does all this leave us?"

"I'm not sure. I can't help feeling as though…there's something we're still missing," Makoto admitted. "But something I can say for certain at this point is that when Monokuma said he wanted to execute me, he wasn't bluffing."

"If there is more to the story, I'm not sure I want to know the rest," Sayaka said. "But when I think about it, neither of our nightmares involved Leon, Mondo, Celes, or Kyoko. That must mean they escaped!"

"Yeah…I'm positive they did!" Makoto nodded enthusiastically. "I know Kyoko would have found a way for them to get out!"

"And what makes you so sure it was her and not Leon who found a way out?" Sayaka said, her expression serious. To this, Makoto found himself blushing and stammering helplessly. Fortunately for him, the pop sensation in front of him began giggling. "No, I understand. Leon and Mondo do seem like the type whose escape plans would at best amount to smashing a hole in the wall, and Celes would likely just watch them out of boredom."

Makoto shook his head and laughed. "Yeah, I can definitely see that happening," he said wryly, as he glanced towards the camp's perimeter. "Kyoko…she's really something, isn't she?" To her credit, Sayaka didn't make any comments this time, but even so, she couldn't help but stifle a small chuckle.

For a while, the two just kept each other company, usually in comforting silence but occasionally making small talk. Eventually, Sayaka's eyelids began to flutter, and once the pop star had finally fallen asleep, Makoto started to make his way back towards his spot. But he had only taken a few steps before coming to an abrupt halt.

"Hold on…If Sayaka and I were both seeing the same lifetime…how is possible that we saw each other's deaths?" Try as he might, Makoto just couldn't make sense of his newfound revelation. Shrugging, he decided that he'd have plenty of time to deliberate on the matter the following day. Right now, he wanted to fall asleep while his spirits were still reasonably high. So without further ado, Makoto plopped right back on the ground, and before long, he was out once again.

What Makoto and Sayaka had not realized was that their entire conversation had been overheard by the people currently on lookout duty, though neither of them were aware that the other had been privy to the exchange as well. But while one of the pair keeping watch silently and stoically processed all the new information they'd just overheard, the other's face was full of fearful confusion.

 **(To be continued)**

A few notes about this chapter. First of all, the main purpose of this chapter was to introduce something I plan to make good use of for the duration of the first arc of this story. Admittedly, it's heavily influenced by a similar plot device incorporated in another Spike Chunsoft franchise, but the way I plan on having it work here will be a wee bit different. Some of you may already be able to pick up on what some of my rules are going to be for this newfound ability. Second, I originally planned to include this in the previous chapter, but for certain reasons, I ended up only hinting at it last time. Third, I tried to condense the details of each segment of the nightmares, but this is going to be the shortest the descriptions of them will be. Fourth, as grateful as I am that School Mode exists at all, I quickly realized that, even without Monokuma's warning about continuity, there would be some serious consequences to their miraculous rescue by Usami. For example, not knowing that the world is no longer the one they remember would lead to overall poor preparation for leaving Hope's Peak.

But enough of that. I've already had to make a few changes to this chapter and the previous ones thanks to some new details from the anime. Even so, DON'T spoil anything in your reviews! And if you wanna discuss with me in a PM, make sure I'm up to date first, or I specifically say just how far along I am. I've still got to make some more progress on the light novels, the manga (though I THINK I'm currently caught up with Killer Killer), and actually start the Abridged series. At this rate, though, I may end up typing up another chapter before I've taken care of all that. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Until next time, everyone! You better get ready!


	4. Act 1, Chapter 3

Alright, so the DR3 anime is over, and while I feel comfortable going forward with most of my plans, others, especially long term ones, I'm going to have to devote some more thought to. Speaking of which, as of this chapter, this story assumes that the reader is familiar with said anime in its entirety in addition to all three games out so far.

Before we get started, there's something I'd like to ask of my readers. There are a few DR-related materials I've been trying to track down online for a while now, and a good number of them I've had a decent amount of luck with. However, there is something I've been having a REALLY hard time finding: artwork for several of the unused executions as (apparently, since I don't own a copy) in the official fanbook. Namely, for characters of the first game, I can find descriptions for the unused executions of Hifumi, Sakura, Toko, and Hina as well as a piece of fan art for Hina's, but no official pictures for any of them, and nothing whatsoever for 'Junko'. Even if it's fan art, if someone could PLEASE direct me to artwork for unused execution for Hifumi, Sakura, and Toko. I've heard one of them is shown in the manga adaptation of the demo, but it doesn't appear to have been translated that far in English yet. On a related note, I'd be happy if someone could tell me what their idea for an execution for 'Junko' had she ever become a blackened and been found guilty following a class trial instead of being used to make a point by Monokuma. The most I can come up with is something involving a guillotine. Anyone care to guess where I got that idea?

One last thing to take care of before we begin. I want to give out a huge thank you to TriMaplenut, who helped me proofread this chapter as well as the previous one. Seriously, you rule!

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Danganronpa.**

Chapter 3: Shine On You Crazy Diamond

It was the beginning of their second day in the wasteland that used to be a city. After a very light breakfast, the group began to prepare for the day's trek. However, everyone's attention was being quickly drawn to a rather unexpected argument.

"Please! I can't ask for you to do that for me again today!" Chihiro was bowing deeply before Sakura and Mondo.

"But Chihiro, it's really not a problem-" The martial artist tried to reassure them, only to be interrupted.

"Yes it is!" The programmer insisted. "I'm sorry, but I…I can't keep holding everyone back, especially when we don't know what's going on and I can't make good use of my programming abilities. I know I must do my part, but as I am right now, that's not possible. I NEED to get stronger, so I can be useful to everyone."

No one knew how to respond to this, though Makoto couldn't help but smile a bit, remembering their little chat before leaving Hope's Peak. For what felt like an eternity to Chihiro, silence was all that followed. Sakura's eyes were closed, and Mondo's expression was scrunched up, both in deep thought. Eventually, the biker gang leader face up, and he punched his fist into his palm excited.

"I've got it! Hey bro, could you pass me my bag?"

"Of course, bro!" Taka grinned. Moments later, Mondo was digging around in his rather large pack until he finally pulled out a pickaxe.

"How about you try carrying this in your arms while also carrying your bag for the rest of today? I don't find it all that heavy, but you might. What do you think, Sakura?"

"I must admit, for someone unused to strength training in general, the weight of the pickaxe normally wouldn't be the worst place to start," Sakura admitted, her pleasant surprise clear in her tone. "However, in this particular case, I don't believe that to be the wisest course of action. Chihiro, today you should focus on being able to walk on your own. Depending on how well you fare, maybe this afternoon you can try carrying your bag as well, and tomorrow you can try the pickaxe on top of that."

"No, I'm fine! I can start today!" Chihiro insisted.

"I must disagree, Chihiro," Sakura said firmly.

"Sakura's right," Mondo said. "You could barely fuckin' _walk_ yesterday. Asking you to carry this for the whole day was not a good idea."

"Yes, you would not be doing your body any favors by overworking yourself through exercise, let alone everyone else," Sakura confirmed. If you truly wish to get stronger for the sake of the group and not just yourself, you need to start at an appropriate spot relative to your current strength and work your way up from there. One's body does not become so strong overnight."

"Even I can understand that," Mondo said with a nod. "My brother and I had to work our assess off to get everyone in our gang to follow our lead, and that took years. Still…you're asking for help instead of running away from your problems. That alone takes a shit-ton of strength."

"Indeed. I'd be honored to lend my assistance," said Sakura.

"Me too!" cheered Hina. "I'm always trying to get better and better, and I'd love to help you do the same!"

"Helping to nurture such a pure drive for self-improvement…I too cannot stand idly by. Allow me to aid you as well!" exclaimed Taka.

Tears began to well up in Chihiro's eyes as they bowed repeatedly to everyone, words of gratitude pouring out of their mouth at a mile a minute. For Makoto and his companions, this scene would become a cherished memory full of hope, one that they would find themselves coming back to many times over the days to come.

* * *

About 10 minutes later, almost everyone was done packing up. Having finished himself little while ago, Makoto had taken it upon himself to help those who hadn't yet. Currently, he was trying to help Hifumi, who had been the only person to feel dejected by Chihiro's resolution.

"Miss Fujisaki…sweet, adorable Miss Fujisaki…" the doujinshi author moaned for the 78th time.

"Hifumi, I understand why you're upset, but this is something they chose for themselves-"

"But _why_ , Mister Naegi? Why would she wish to go from a Gen IV Johto Lass to an Orre Bodybuilder?!"

"Hifumi, dear…" came the voice of Celes, standing just behind the fan work creator. "Not everyone is necessarily happy with how they are, and they are more than welcome to try and change themselves. Do you understand?" The gambler, despite the cheerful smile on their face, had placed their right hand on the plump boy's shoulder, and Makoto suspected that she was in fact gripping rather tightly.

"Now then…how about we finish packing up?" Not trusting his voice, Hifumi nodded fervently. Silent mouthing his gratitude to the high roller, Makoto looked around and noticed Mondo off to one side, staring intently at the pickaxe he offered to lend Chihiro.

"Hey Mondo! Need any help with packing?" Makoto called out to the biker. Momentarily started, Mondo quickly shifted his face into a grin.

"Nah, I'm good! Thanks, though!" Mondo said, giving a thumb's up. As his eyes drifted back to the pickaxe, Makoto also took another look at the pickaxe. It was then that Makoto noticed that the pickaxe had the words "Crazy Diamonds" engraved on the side. After racking his brain for a moment, the (un)lucky Student remembered that it was the name of the biker gang Mondo lead.

"It was really cool of you to offer to help out Chihiro like that, but that pickaxe looks like it's pretty important to you," Makoto said.

"Ain't that the truth," Mondo said with a wry smile. "My big brother Daiya gave it to me as a birthday present a few years back, and I've used it a hell of a lot since to break all kinds of stuff. Though after talking to you, I decided that the next time I used it would be to build something instead of wreakin' havoc."

"Yeah, I can see you've kept it in good condition," Makoto nodded. "But then, why were you so willing to lend it to Chihiro?"

"What can I say? The dude's resolve really got to me, ya know? Although…" Mondo trailed off.

"Although…?" Makoto inquired.

"The thing is, I left it with a good friend of mine before coming to Hope's Peak, and yet in our first week there, I found in the shack in the garden on the top floor," Mondo said, his confusion apparent in his tone.

"The fifth-floor garden? What was it doing there?" asked Makoto.

"Hell if I know," Mondo said. He looked as though he was going to keep trying to shrug it off, but changed his mind at the last moment. "Actually, that's not the only thing bugging me. There's a bunch of other stuff I was planning on bringing to school once we got settled in, but a lot of it was already waiting for me in the dorm room."

"Come to think of it, I think Leon and Chihiro may have mentioned something to that effect early on, and I don't think they were the only ones, either" Makoto confirmed aloud. "Anyway, I'm going to go and see if there's anyone else who needs help packing up."

"Alright, dude. Let me know if I can help out as well, okay?" Mondo offered.

"Sure thing!" Makoto said with a smile. But even as he walked away, his mind remained on the conversation he just had. _'My room was pretty much barren right from the start, but it sounds as though I might have been in the minority there. Maybe I should ask everyone, just to be safe...'_

* * *

Unbeknownst to the fifteen high school students, their movements weren't going unnoticed. Not too far from their location, a red-haired girl was watching them through the lens of a rather high-quality camera. While observing the Hope's Peak students, the girl was in the middle of conversing with someone through a walkie-talkie.

"UGH! That scene with Chihiro was so sugary I thought my teeth would fall out just from watching!" moaned a voice from the girl's device. "No heart break whatsoever! Talk about lame lame LAME! Why did I have to plant that bug on them before they left? I had to listen to every stinkin' word of that fluff fest!"

"What are your orders from here on out?" asked the girl.

"Hmmm…how long until Future Foundation will reach them, Shutter Bug?" the voice inquired.

"The Architect of Death's machines should be able to prevent them from making contact for at least another five to six days," came Shutter Bug's response.

"And how long until they get their next true taste of despair?" the voice continued to ask.

"In all likelihood, they'll start seeing bodies by late afternoon," the girl said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And based on the direction they're heading, I believe the first person they'll meet is our old substitute teacher."

"You mean Ms. Phys Ed? Ah, just remembering how she and the Talent Scout tried in vain to sneak past our defenses makes me feel incredible," the voice said with relish. "But…let's add to the despair and have a relative of their despairingly adorable headmaster there to greet them. Upupupupupupupupu!"

"I'll inform the Architect right away then," confirmed the red head, a manic grin quickly growing on her face and madness swirling in her eyes.

 **(To be continued)**

I meant to have this chapter finished a while ago, since I've had at least two thirds of it planned out in my head. The remaining third, as well as the chapter title, will be saved for later on. However, I've been distracted for several reasons. Admittedly, many of them are a bit on the personal side, including things I kind of come to fan fiction primarily to escape from. Fortunately, I did manage to resolve one of said issues in a sense, which has made a major difference to my peace of mind. I've also been doing a lot of other things lately to cheer myself up, and to my pleasant surprise, I've actually managed to make some progress on the next chapter of Outlaw Star The Flower of Fate for the first time in a while. Not a whole lot, but it's still something.

Anywhoosal, I think I'm getting a good idea of the average length each chapter for this story should be, prologue not included. Other than that, I don't exactly have a whole lot else to say here. Plus, I like to think I learned my lesson about overly long author's notes.

Until next time! You better get ready!


	5. Act 1, Chapter 4

Yeah, this chapter took WAAAAAAAY too long. I just hope it's still enjoyable for everyone, for there's a LOT that happens here. Also, MAJOR props to TriMaplenut for helping me out with the editing. It would have been a whole lot messier without their amazing aid. But in the meantime, I hope you all have fun reading the next installment of Escape Mode!

PS: I know the chapter title isn't one of my most creative. That being said, it is a song title like the last few chapters, and it seemed appropriate. Any Finger Eleven fans here?

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Danganronpa.**

Chapter 4: Conversations

It had been several hours since the group set off once again, and Makoto was deep in thought. Currently, he'd asked all but a few people about the state of their rooms when they first arrived at school. In return, they'd all given him answers similar to Mondo's while displaying different degrees of bafflement. On one end, there was Leon who just shrugged the whole thing off, and on the other, there was Hiro who was convinced it was the same aliens who once made off with part of his burger, trolling him once again. The only two exceptions had been Taka and Celes, who'd had all their belongings shipped much further ahead than everyone else and hadn't been greeted by any unexpected possessions. Most everyone, however, agreed that they were perplexed upon entering their dorm rooms, but also too distracted by Monokuma's appearance and strange demands to give the matter much more thought at the time.

Makoto let out an exasperated sigh. _'This isn't making sense, but I feel like I'm almost on to something with this line of thought.'_ Over to the right, he saw Kyoko chatting with Sayaka, and figured he'd ask them both at once. But just as he was about to call out to them, Sayaka beat him to it. Turning her head towards him, the pop star said, "Makoto! Isn't it about time you asked us about our rooms?"

"What!? How did-" Makoto stammered

"Come on, Makoto! As a fellow esper, I thought you'd know the answer to that question by now!" the singer lectured him. Makoto's stammering only worsened, before Sayaka finally burst out laughing.

"Relax! I'm just kidding!" Sayaka chuckled.

"Then how…?" Makoto asked.

"You really think we couldn't hear you asking everyone the same questions repeatedly?" Kyoko commented.

"Good point," Makoto sighed, though whether it was with relief or exasperation even he wasn't sure.

"To answer your question, Makoto," Kyoko resumed, "Both our rooms were empty when we got to Hope's Peak."

"Yeah, and oddly enough, none of the outfits I ordered a while ago were there waiting for me, either," added Sayaka.

"Huh? Outfits?" inquired Makoto.

"Oh yeah! Didn't I tell you?" said Sayaka. "There were a bunch of cute clothes I ordered with the intention of trying them out in front of everyone at school. They were supposed to have arrived before I did, but unlike most of our classmates, nothing was waiting for me there."

Makoto nodded his head, taking in the information. "So far, that makes eight of us who had belongings waiting there unexpectedly, three with empty rooms, and only two who were neither missing anything nor had something they didn't recall bringing with them. That just leaves Byakuya and Junko…" the self-proclaimed ordinary boy trailed off.

"Makoto," interjected Kyoko. "You've been asking everyone the same question, but do you have any idea why this line of thinking is so important?"

"I…I'm not sure," Makoto admitted. "It's just…Mondo said he found that pickaxe in the toolshed, despite leaving it with a friend before coming to Hope's Peak. And when he said that, it got me thinking...there were other things on the school grounds that shouldn't have been there, like all that rust on the wrecked vehicle." Makoto hesitated here. "Sorry, but this is as far as I've gotten. I feel like somebody hid the pieces to an 100 piece jigsaw puzzle along with the box showing what the picture looks, and I've only come across two of the hidden puzzle pieces."

"That's a rather…appropriate analogy, if a bit exaggerated." Kyoko commented.

"I was going to go with 'fitting' myself," Sayaka giggled.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Makoto said, his puzzlement quite apparent.

"A few things, actually. First, I think those two pieces you did find actually happen to fit together," said Kyoko.

"Really? How?" asked Makoto.

"Remember our discussion about how we might have been locked in Hope's Peak Academy for longer than we were initially led to believe?" Kyoko reminded him.

"Well, yeah. I remember walking through the main entrance, only for everything to get all blurry. The next thing I know, I was waking up in a classroom on the first floor," Makoto recalled.

"And how much time do you think had passed?" Kyoko went on.

"Originally, I thought it had been a few hours, but it was hard to tell with all the windows boarded…" Makoto's eyes flashed open. "Hold on a moment. There is no way Monokuma could have boarded up every single window in a five-story school in a matter of hours, especially without backups like he claimed."

"Exactly. There is a high probability that the time between our arrival at Hope's Peak and our meeting Monokuma in the gymnasium was not just a matter of hours, or even days. The time that passed could have been as much as weeks or months," Kyoko answered.

"That would explain the amount of rust on that wrecked vehicle," Makoto nodded in agreement. "But you also said there were other reasons my analogy was somewhat off. How?"

"Well, for another thing, you have at least two more pieces, one of which we've already discussed, and a third one on its way," Kyoko answered, though it was starting to seem she was having way too much fun with Makoto's analogy.

"Okay, now I'm really confused," sighed Makoto.

"Sayaka, would you like to take this one?" Kyoko gestured towards the singer.

"Sure thing, Kyoko!" Sayaka said excitedly. "When we first heard you asking everyone about their rooms, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that I had experienced something similar, and the thought just wouldn't leave me alone. But around the time I was bouncing this inkling of mine off Kyoko, you were asking Hiro about his belongings, and that's when I remembered!"

"Remembered? What did you recall?" Makoto asked.

"Relax, I'm getting to that.," Sayaka chuckled. "Anyway, a few weeks ago, Hiro stormed over to me and demanded I explain why I and a few of the others were working together with the Mastermind."

"I'm afraid to ask, but why would Hiro do such a thing?" Makoto asked, just knowing this was not going to end well.

"Apparently, he found a pair of strange photos in some of the supply rooms, both of which were set in what appeared to be a Hope's Peak classroom," Sayaka explained. "One had Chihiro, Leon, and Mondo with their arms around each other like they were the best of friends and had been for ages, while the other picture had me sitting on a desk laughing while Hifumi was teasing Celes over a camera."

"I'm not sure why he made such a big deal about some photos," Makoto said, tilting his head. "I mean, Chihiro, Leon, and Mondo are pretty much inseparable from each other and Taka, so it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who took the first photo. And Hifumi teases Celes all the time, though I'm not quite sure what you're doing in that photo and who would have taken it."

"That's just it, Makoto," Sayaka shook her head. "Not only have I not had my picture taken since coming to school, let alone one with Hifumi and Celes, Hiro claimed that in those photos, you could see _out the windows_!"

"But…how could that even be possible?" Makoto's jaw was hanging open now. "Weren't we all knocked unconscious when we first got here? The windows were already blocked off when I came to, so when could those photos have even been taken?"

"That was my reaction at the time, and I told Hiro as such, as politely as I could," Sayaka nodded in agreement. "But then he insisted that it meant there was a secret classroom where the windows weren't covered, and the fact that none of us showed any signs of breaking them open was proof of our cooperation with whoever trapped us there."

"That's a giant leap in logic, even for him," said Makoto.

"Precisely," agreed the singer. "And when I asked Hiro to show me the two photos, which I assumed by this point to be forgeries made by Monokuma, he claimed that our self-proclaimed headmaster confiscated both pictures shortly after he first discovered them. After that, I just ignored him, and he didn't bring it up again."

"I don't blame you at all for how you reacted," sighed an exasperated Makoto, before turning to face Kyoko. "I take it this is what you meant by the third puzzle piece." Kyoko simply nodded here.

"Even so, I'm still not quite sure how it's relevant, or what the other two pieces you were talking about are," the ordinary boy admitted.

"Do you remember what we discussed yesterday?" asked Kyoko.

"You mean how the Mastermind was probably more prepared than they had led us to believe?" said Makoto.

"Yes, and that we were likely locked inside Hope's Peak for longer than the seven weeks we know of," Kyoko reminded him. "What if it wasn't just our consciousness that we all lost?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Kyoko?" Sayaka asked, cocking her head to the side. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Me neither," said Makoto, clearly not getting what Kyoko was suggesting.

Kyoko shook her head before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and responding in a surprisingly calm and patient tone, "Carefully consider everything we've mentioned up until now. What missing thread ties it all together?" The enigmatic girl then came to an abrupt stop and looked Makoto directly in the eyes. "However, it's not a conclusion I can tell you straight out. You must reach it on your own. I admit that this realization is going to be painful to acknowledge, and something that most people would cave in upon reaching it. But you need to do this, for yourself and for the sake of everyone here."

The part about it being for everyone's sake confused Makoto, but the lottery winner trusted the lavender haired girl's judgement. Closing his eyes, Makoto became deep in thought.

' _Think, Makoto! What could Kyoko be referring to?'_ the ordinary boy pondered. _'The complete change in scenery around the school, the windows already blocked off, rooms already furnished, photographs of events no one recalls, the giant gap in our memories…What does it all mean?...Hold on a moment…gap in our memories…our…memories…No way…'_

A pin dropped, but to Makoto, it felt more like someone had plunged said pin deep into the back of his cranium and hammered it in even further with a metal pipe. "We lost our consciousness…and our _memories_?"

"As they say, with a keen eye for details, one truth prevails," said Kyoko, her face unreadable. "There is indeed a strong possibility, if not absolute guarantee, that what we thought was our first meeting was anything but. Rather, we've already been students at Hope's Peak Academy for a significant amount of time, but we somehow lost our memories of our student life. Or far more likely, someone took them from us."

To say this was a bombshell would be an understatement. Makoto felt so disoriented he didn't know how he was still standing. So many things seemed wrong with that theory. For one thing, if it were true, that meant that Makoto had barely grown at all in whatever time frame had elapsed. But more importantly, it meant that they and their classmates had gotten to know one another not once, but twice. The same people, the same friendships…Somehow, someone had found a way to steal from them what were likely precious memories, and had Kyoko not raised such a notion, they would not have been the wiser.

Sadly, try as he might, Makoto couldn't refute what Kyoko had proposed. It just made too much sense with everything else he'd noticed up until now. Then he remembered something.

' _This isn't the first time Kyoko's mentioned something along these lines,'_ Makoto considered. _'There was that time when we were hanging out and she told me that what she feared more than anything was something she'd already lost…Had she already realized this back then and not told anyone?'_

"But…how is any of that even possible?" Sayaka asked suddenly, having kept quiet up till now.

"That, I do not know," answered Kyoko. "But method aside, everyone having memory loss would explain a great deal about our circumstances up until now."

"And those photo Hiro mentioned…they weren't just fakes?" asked the singer.

"That's also a distinct possibility, and Monokuma didn't want anyone else finding out about them," Kyoko stated, leaving little room for doubt. "It would also explain the inconsistencies with everyone's belongings. The mastermind has already proven that they're no stranger to making careless mistakes. And yet, for some of us, they went to far more noticeable lengths to ensure we didn't see anything that would make us realize our assumption about the passage of time was incorrect or that we had memories missing."

"But why single the three of us out and not everyone?" Makoto asked.

"Perhaps…perhaps because there was something among our belongings that posed a greater threat to the puppet master," said the lavender-haired young woman. "But what that threat is, I haven't deduced yet."

' _She's not the only one at a loss,'_ thought Makoto. _'I mean, it would make somewhat more sense had it been the other way around and it was just a handful of us who had belongings that shouldn't have been there. But for the majority to have unexpected possessions and less than a handful to have absolutely nothing…what reasoning could there be for something like that? Especially for me. I'm just an ordinary guy who happened to win a lottery. I'm not anything special like Kyoko, Sayaka, or the others. What could I possibly own or have owned that whoever is responsible for our situation thought it was a priority to hide from me?'_

It was then Makoto noticed just how poor a state Sayaka was in. Kyoko hadn't been exaggerating about how the stress of the realization could be too painful to bear for most people. All the color had drained from the singer's face, and she was shaking as though she had just woken from a cryogenic slumber. Before long, the burden became too much to bear and she fell to her knees.

Makoto walked over to the singer before kneeling on the ground next to her. "Sayaka," he began, looking the pop idol in the eyes, a strong conviction in his gaze that he didn't even realize was there. "I don't know how or why our memories were taken from us, but we're here. We're alive, and we're still figuring things out. We can and will get through this ordeal, and we'll get our memories back."

"Makoto?" Sayaka said, on the verge of tears.

"I did make you a promise, after all," the boy said with a smile that radiated so much warmth that one would have thought that the sun had finally broken through the smoggy sky above them

The dam burst, and Sayaka thrust her face into Makoto's chest. "Thank you, Makoto…Thank you so much," the singer said between sobs. Embarrased, Makoto could only scratch his chin while smiling awkwardly. Kyoko said nothing about the sight before her, but a soft smile on her face appeared, for a hunch of hers had just been confirmed.

"I was right to have such high expectations of you, Makoto…" The lavender haired girl said to herself, so quietly that no one present could hear her.

Eventually, Makoto and Sayaka picked themselves up off the ground and turned to face Kyoko. "…So that's one of the two pieces I already possessed, but what's the other one?" Makoto asked.

"Well…" Kyoko started, but she was interrupted by a shout from the front of the group.

"Everyone!" stated Sakura, sounding unusually unnerved. "We need to stop walking. Now."

* * *

At this point, the fifteen students were approaching what could only be described as a miniature junk yard, with tons of scrap metal crunched into unrecognizable clumps. However, on the other side of the piles of garbage, one could see the decaying remains of what appeared to have once been a convenience store. And even though it was still daytime, they could see that there was electricity running through the building, although it kept flickering on and off. One would think this would have been the most promising sight they'd come across since leaving Hope's Peak, and it very well would have been…were it not for a rather disturbing sight right in front of the store's front doors.

Quickly scattering and hiding behind various junk piles, the group of teenagers bore witness to something that would haunt many, if not all of them, for the rest of their lives. In front of the convenient store was what could only be a dead body. From where they stood, not too many details could determined, but the foul stench and dried, caked blood were pretty decent indicators that "alive and well" were not the correct adjectives for whoever they were. But an even more obvious, and disturbing, indication that whoever lay there was no longer among the living was that there appeared to be something eating the corpse.

On first glance, it appeared that it was their self-proclaimed headmaster, but one need only blink to notice some major differences between the two bears. The bear in front them had far creepier eyes than the Monokuma they knew, with their left red eye more jagged and the black right eye full of bloodlust. In addition, this feral Monokuma stood on all four of its limbs rather than just its rear legs, and while their supposed principal occasionally demonstrated that their front paws concealed claws, the terror in front of them had claws on full display for all four paws. This Monokuma, with its messier coat of fur and sharp fangs dripping with rotten flesh, was the stuff of nightmares. In fact, Toko had already passed out, and Hiro was desperately muttering some sort of prayer.

"Is that…thing snacking on a dead body?" Hina gasped.

"But wasn't Monokuma supposed to be a machine? Why would a robot need to devour anything, let alone a corpse?" Chihiro asked, looking more like a frightened rabbit than ever before.

"Maybe eating humans is all it knows how to do, like a starving ghoul or naked giant?" muttered Hifumi, who was noticeably sweating more than usual.

"Is WHY a robot would need to eat really the most pressing issue here?" growled Leon in frustration.

"Leon's right. We could be fucked if that bastard notices us," Mondo said through clenched teeth.

"Even so, we only have so much food and water left. Finding a way past it and into the convenient store is our best course of action right now," said Kyoko.

"And how do you propose we accomplish that? I have no desire to act as a lure for that monstrosity," said Byakuya.

"Me neither, dude! I sure as hell ain't acting as bait! You can't make me!" Hiro insisted.

"No one said anything about sacrificing a fellow student, Hiro," sighed Sakura. "However, even if we try to go around the rear, there's no guarantee that a back entrance would accessible."

"So in the end, we still need find some way to distract that hellspawn, something I'm quite in favor of," said Celes, her infamous poker face in full effect. "Personally, I would rather we not have to continue to keep rationing our supplies at our current rate."

"Maybe we can find something among all this junk to throw, using the sound it produces to distract the Monokuma-lookalike?" proposed Sayaka.

"Sounds good to me! Let's find something light and loud!" said Junko with a grin. Interestingly enough, there wasn't a trace of fear to be found from her, be it her expression or her tone.

Makoto, Taka, and Toko were the only ones not to contribute to this exchange, but each for different reasons. Makoto felt he had nothing else to add, both terrified from the situation at hand and happy that (almost) everyone was still able to come together despite the horror in front of them. Taka, on the other hand, was clenching his fists in frustration, wanting nothing more than to shout at the obstacle in front of them, but knowing full well that it would do the group little good. As for Toko, she was still out cold, though for some reason, her tongue appeared to be hanging out of her mouth further than humanly possible.

As quietly as they could, the group scattered towards the edges of the junkyard, looking for objects that they could use for their plan. Before too long, Makoto found something he thought would work: a thin metal board jutting out near the top of a pile that reached about a foot above his head. But as he reached up towards his goal, his foot happened to bang against a part of the junk pile that wasn't that stable…

The ensuing crash wasn't actually all that loud, but to everyone present, it was as piercing as a gunshot. And while all the humans present glanced in Makoto's direction with gazes containing varying degrees of panic, fear, and annoyance, one monochrome machine perked its head up and turned towards the source of the offending noise. Its left eye glinting brighter than before, the furry tank dashed towards its next meal.

 **(To be continued)**

Okay, so another chapter down, and what better way to celebrate the fact that Danganronpa V3 is FINALLY coming to Steam later this month. YAHOO! Why they waited so long with this and Persona 5 after the Japanese release date is something I'll never understand, especially now that we have things like English dubs of Space Dandy and My Hero Academia coming out at the rate that they are. But I digress.

I don't know when the next chapter will be ready, and seeing as how fall marks 10 years since I discovered the world of fanfiction, my focus is admittedly going to be on a different project of mine, one I haven't updated in quite some time. I apologize, especially after how long this chapter took, but with so many ideas in my head, it's hard to get them all down with the schedule that I have. Once again, I'm sorry about how long this has taken, and I hope that doesn't stop any of you wonderful readers from enjoying what I've put together so far. Until next time!


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